


wanna feel the heat

by onceandforall



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Established Relationship, Lio versus the Cold: the fic, M/M, Post-Canon, hand holding, so much hand holding, they basically go on a winter date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 20:23:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20972519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onceandforall/pseuds/onceandforall
Summary: This is what Lio knows: heat, fire, warmth, Galo Thymos, the need to be accepted, the want of belonging, the fact that Inferno Volcano Margherita Megamax is the best pizza.This is what Lio doesn't know: how to brace for a Promepolis winter.





	wanna feel the heat

**Author's Note:**

> me: sees promare  
me: oh my god  
me: listens to 覚醒 for 72 hours straight  
me: presents you with this fic 
> 
> in all realness though, god did i love promare and god do i love lio fotia. also, promepolis is new york city and no one can tell me otherwise. (those green street signs!!! hello!!!!!!) so i just took my love for nyc winter festives, lio, superfly, and hyperfixations and thus this fic was born. 
> 
> hope u enjoy!! 
> 
> once

Lio knows that  Promepolis  doesn’t get the worst of the winter cold. He’s seen the headlines about the weather in Chicago being so terrible that there are fucking  _ ice quakes. _ He’s seen the photos of Montana, covered in piles of snow from September until the tendrils of spring come with the month of May. Hell, he’s lived in Detroit where going out in the height of winter without your face completely covered was an immediate frost-bite death sentence. 

But Lio has never lived without his Promare. 

And everything is  _ freezing _ . 

The first months without his Promare weren’t terrible. The weather was still warm, the sun a gentle respite against his skin as he took breaks from his efforts of trying to implement a successful Burnish reintegration program. He could lay out in the sun like a cat, soaking up every ray he could until work called him away. 

Lio could turn the heater up in the apartment that he and Galo shared (Because of course Galo wasn’t going to let Lio sleep in the Burnish shelters when he had space in his own apartment, because of course Galo didn’t take no for an answer, because of course Galo slipped into Lio’s newly formed routine of life as easily as his daily coffee with two sugars and a splash of oat milk, because of course Galo’s smile made Lio’s knees want to give out, because of course Galo wore his heart on his sleeve and then gave his entire heart to Lio for safekeeping, because  _ of course. _ ) and wrap himself in blankets and sweaters and fuzzy socks that didn’t belong to him and pretend that he was okay. 

But then the cold hit. Summer seemed to hang onto dear life for weeks on end, pulsing out hot, humid days before finally being defeated by fall and disappearing overnight without even a proper goodbye. Winter’s approach was a bit gentler, maybe too gentle, the only passage of time evident in how the leaves changed into brilliant hues then floated to the ground to be cleaned away by street-sweepers. Lio didn’t notice how cold it had become until it had gotten  _ cold,  _ cold enough that he felt like he would never be warm again. 

“You’re being dramatic,” Galo teases. Lio has the space heater he bought last week pointed directly at him, or as direct as it can be under his piles of blankets and sweaters and long-sleeved shirts and thick socks. The heater had already been cranked up as high as it would get without making Lio feel guilty for the fact that he’s not paying for their bills. 

Galo somehow manages to wrap his arms around Lio, bringing the burrito Lio has become close to his chest. “It’s not  _ that  _ cold out. It’s barely 30 out. That’s barely cold enough for water to freeze.” His words are good-natured, pure in intent. Galo knows exactly why Lio is so sensitive to the cold, and all Lio has to do is tell him to cut it out and Galo will stop all the ribbing at once. 

But Lio has grown fond of Galo’s teasing. “It’s cold, you know it’s cold. Not everyone is warm enough to be their own personal heater.” Lio swears that he can feel the heat radiating off of Galo’s chest through the layers of insulation, but he’d never say that out loud. 

“It’s just going to get colder this week. And it’s both of our days off.” Galo releases his hold on the Lio Burrito and starts removing the blankets layer by layer. Lio pouts but doesn’t swat away Galo’s hands. “So come on, let’s do something fun.” 

Lio is shivering by the time Galo peels away the last layer of warmth around him. He still has on about three jackets and two pairs of thick socks, but it’s not enough. Galo holds his hand out for Lio to take, eyes shining with glee. 

“Come on, the great Lio Burrito has been conquered. Time to take on the world.” 

Lio rolls his eyes at the sheer ridiculousness that makes up Galo’s every atom, but reaches out and takes Galo’s offered hand. 

\-- 

“Looking slick, city boy,” Galo says as they walk towards the subway stop. Lio hadn’t bothered asking where they were going, trusting Galo to lead them somewhere where they’re not at risk of dying and then trusting himself to get them out of a lethal situation as extra insurance. 

Lio knows that he looks like an exploded marshmallow. His white puffy coat goes to the middle of his thighs, puffed up even more than usual thanks to the layers of insulated long-sleeve shirt and flannel and hoodie he has on. He could barely fit his three-socked feet into his snow boots and between his beanie and the two scarfs he has on, you can barely see his face. 

The subway station is a total of 100 feet from their apartment building. 

They swipe in, well Galo swipes himself in and then swipes in Lio too because there’s no way that Lio is going to find his wallet, let alone his metrocard in all the layers he’s in. Lio doesn’t even want to think about taking off his gloves, let alone unzipping himself. 

The ride is blissfully short and the train car is mostly empty. Nobody looks at them twice, and Lio is grateful for  Promepolis’s ability to not care about anybody beyond their personal bubble. Galo shuffles them off at their stop and leads them through the streets of downtown  Promepolis. During their ride, it’s gotten colder, and had started to snow. Lio can’t help but let a full body shiver make its way through his body. But then Galo is pressing his warm chest against Lio’s back and Lio is still cold, but it’s a mangeable feeling. 

“The city looks so nice in the snow,” Galo remarks. 

Lio hums his agreement. Being the leader of Mad Burnish didn’t give him a lot of time to wander the city, appreciate the sights and beauties of it all. He was more focused on keeping himself alive and trying to give the Burnish some semblance of comfort amongst all the horror. 

And Lio is still goal-oriented. He still wants what is best for the Burnish and is willing to fight tooth and nail to ensure their safety and peace. But now he can breathe. Now he can look up at the snowy skies and be mesmerized by how the clouds devour the tops of the skyscrapers, hide them from view. He can hold Galo’s hand (albeit, that hand is gloved, wrapped around an electric hand-warmer, and in the pocket of his own down coat.) and let himself be led through the city. 

They stop at an outside market. The snow has started to stick, but there are still plenty of people milling around. Galo takes them from shop to shop, stopping and chatting with the workers of each store as they all try to convince him to leave with a piece of their inventory in a bag and a bit of Galo’s money in their register. But Galo is so personable that even though he only bought from one store, all the vendors cheerily wish the two of them a good day. 

“What did you even buy?” Lio asks when they’ve made their way through the entire maze of shops (food carts included!) and are resting in the heated sitting area. Lio had wandered away from Galo at one point, the smell of warm hot chocolate too good to resist. He had come back and Galo had a small paper bag in his hand and only shrugged when Lio had asked him what he bought. 

Lio asks him for the third time, holding out a forkful of warm crepe for Galo to bite. Lio may have gone a little overboard on the food. The small table in front of them is filled with all sorts of food, some savory but majority sweet. There’s crepes, churros, mochi, macarons, dumplings, gingerbread cookies and some things that Lio doesn’t even know the names for. 

He’s going to eat it all, that’s for sure. But is he going to regret eating it all? Maybe. But that’s a Future Lio problem. Current Lio is raising an eyebrow at Galo, wondering why he isn’t answering his question. 

“Come on, show me what’s in the bag.” 

Galo finishes chewing and sighs. “It was supposed to be a surprise. For later.” He moves a few of the food items so he can open the bag on the table and take out what’s inside. Galo pulls out something small, small enough that at first Lio can’t even tell what it is. 

And then Lio looks a little closer and rolls his eyes. “Galo, really?” 

“What?” Galo asks innocently. He had bought a button and he holds that button next to his face, as if it’s somehow going to make up for the fact that  _ Galo had bought a button with Lio’s face on it _ . 

If asked, Lio is going to deny that he blushes. But he does put all of his focus on the food in front of him while ignoring the finger Galo is poking his side with. 

“Look, Lio. Now I have a tiny Lio to carry around with all the time! Isn’t it perfect?” 

“Why would you want a button with my face on it.” 

“Because you’re cute. And I like having cute things.” 

Lio chokes on his food, but a big gulp of hot chocolate saves him from any further disaster. Lio has never gotten the hype over putting his face on things. He knows he was the leader of Mad Burnish, and people had made all  _ sorts _ of things with the Mad Burish image and logo, but at least it was always his armour and not his actual face. 

Over the months, it’s bothered him less and less but the sight of Galo humming a tune and smiling as he fastens the Lio pin on his down jacket is embarrassing. 

“Look!” Galo says, pointing at his chest proudly. The Lio in the pin glares at him. Lio glares back. “Now I have two Lios with me today!” 

Lio shakes his head, but he can’t help but be amused. His chest feels warm, full of fondess and adoration. He loads his fork with more food and shoves it into Galo’s mouth before he can say anything more. 

\-- 

The day’s not over yet, much to the horror of Lio’s chattering teeth and fully belly. Nothing sounds quite as comforting as laying down on their bed, wrapped in Galo’s arm while a movie croons in the background, but Galo has more plans for the day. 

And these plans include ice skating. 

“You do realize I’ve never ice skated before,” Lio says and Galo leans down and ties up Lio’s skates for him. Lio would do it himself, but the puffiness of his multi-layered attire prohibits him from bending down that far without ripping something. “Never tried, never really wanted to.” Lio looks at the mass of people circling around the rink. There are couples on dates, moving together in tandem. There are kids racing around, weaving through people and ignoring their parents’ yells. There is a young girl that takes all of two steps and then loses her balance, falling face first into the ice. She doesn’t even cry, just picks herself up and keeps going. “Still kind of don’t want to.” 

Galo leans his head against Lio’s leg. He smiles, just the edges of his lips turning up and making the corners of his eyes crinkle. “You’ll have fun, I swear.” 

Lio’s heart betrays him and starts beating overtime at the soft look on Galo’s face. “If I fall, you didn’t see anything.” 

“Nothing!” Galo laughs. “I’m not going to see anything at all. You have my word. But hey, if you  _ do _ f-word, at least you’ll be well padded!” 

The ice is slicker than Leo is expecting. He spends the first entire lap with one hand glued onto the railing, the other hand gripping Galo’s hand so tightly that Lio is surprised that Galo hasn’t pulled away in pain yet. It takes two more laps for Lio to wobble away from the railing and take a few experimental steps of his own. 

Fire is what Lio knows; what Lio knew. He knew heat and warmth and power and flames and the Promare’s voice telling him to  _ burn burn burn _ . He knew how to control the fire, channel it into both offensive and defensive methods. He knew how to attack and how to fight back and how to protect his people. 

He doesn’t know ice. At all. 

And so Lio isn’t surprised when he lets go of Galo’s hand and he immediately slips and falls backwards. There’s a lot of fabric between himself and the ice, but the fall still hurts. Lio spends a few seconds on the ground, not exactly moping but something akin to that. Galo laughs as he skates in front of Lio and helps him up. 

“It’s a steep learning curve,” Galo says, holding onto Lio’s hand and pulling him along. Lio has the majority of his attention on trying to put one foot in front of the other, pushing off and gliding on the ice without losing his balance. “So don’t be too sad that you’re not getting it on the first try.” 

Lio snorts. “And when did  _ you _ learn how to ice skate?” 

“You know that lake? That you evaporated with your Promare and all that? With the computer guy and the super-not-cooly named machine and all that? For some reason, that lake was  _ always  _ iced over. I would go over there whenever life would get too much. It was a good place to cool off. And I had to cool off a lot.” 

“Firefighting get too hot?” 

Galo laughs and squeezes Lio’s hand. “Something like that.” 

They make it twice more around the rink and on the last quarter of it, Lio is able to skate by himself. The air has gotten colder and Lio’s breath fogs in front of his face but the thrill of finally skating is exhilarating. Lio wants to turn around, smugly smile at Galo and says  _ Steep Learning Curve My Ass.  _ But it’s as the exit to the rink is coming nearer and nearer that Lio realizes that even though he now knows how to go, he doesn’t know how to stop. 

Lio crashes into the wall of the rink and he curses as he falls down once again. 

“Looks like that was a hard crash,” Galo says, trying and failing to hide the amusement in his voice. Lio glares at him, but all that does is make Galo smile. “Are we calling it a day?” 

Lio can feel the ice seeping coldness through every contact point. It’s snowing in earnest now, and there’s snow collecting in his scarf and on the tips of his eyelashes. Galo doesn’t have a beanie on, just a pair of earmuffs, and so there’s snow in his hair too. It’s probably going to melt and take all of Galo’s hard work (read: hair gel) with it. They need to go inside, defrost, and spend the rest of their day off in the warmth of their own apartment. At least that’s what Lio thinks is necessary. 

“Yes,  _ please. _ ” Lio sticks his hand out and Galo helps him up. But Galo doesn’t stop pulling when Lio’s up on both feet. He pulls on Lio until Lio is against his chest, forced to tilt his head up to look at Galo. Galo wraps his arm around Lio and squeezes tightly. He presses a kiss to the tip of Lio’s nose, the only part of his body that isn’t covered in something to keep Lio from freezing. 

And then Galo pulls away, still holding onto Lio’s hand and dragging him out of the rink. Sure, the promise of home and warmth is just on the horizon, and the cold is still something that haunts Lio to his very core. But being with Galo, the cold doesn’t seem so unbearable. 

\--

Later, when they’re on the subway, Galo using his abnormally tall self to create a space for Lio to stand amidst the packed train car, Galo announces that he’s going to order pizza for the two of them. 

“And, like–” The subway jolts and everyone in the car goes skidding sideways. Lio grabs ahold of Galo for balance and when the train goes back to its relatively smooth ride, he doesn’t let go. Galo is warm, and Lio plans on taking full advantage of that later tonight. “Thanks for going out with me today. I know you and the cold don’t get along. But, thanks.” 

Lio leans his head against Galo’s chest. “I love you.” 

“Oh.” The subway doors open and there’s a flood of people ushering in and out of the car. When the door’s close again, Galo has his chin resting on the top of Lio’s head. “I love you too.” Galo kisses the top of his head and Lio thinks that despite the cold, if every day was like today, he wouldn’t complain. 

(They miss their stop, somehow, and the next train that goes in the direction that they need to go in is a good 15 minutes away. So they walk the 6 blocks from the station to their apartment and Lio complains the entire way. But then their apartment is warm and Galo is warm and the feelings of love in Lio’s chest are warm too. And that’s all that really matters right now.) 

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on [twt](https://twitter.com/jinclty) or on [tumblr](https://onceand-forall.tumblr.com/) for me crying over lio and all of promare nonstop !!! stream 覚醒 !!!!! 
> 
> and yea.... their date is at bryant park....... sue me..... 
> 
> (someone please make the Lio button for me) 
> 
> thank u !!!!


End file.
